Three journalists whose careers span more than 167 years will be inducted into the Cincinnati Journalism Hall of Fame at an awards banquet today presented by the Queen City Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists at the Millennium Hotel.

They are James Gillespie Birney, Emil Dansker and Melvin Grier.

Birney, an abolitionist, edited the antislavery newspaper The Philanthropist during the 1830s.

Dansker, who worked as an educator and journalist, covered urban affairs and aviation for The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Dansker

Grier

Grier has been an award-winning photographer for the Cincinnati Post since 1974.

Retired Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, a co-chairman of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, will be the keynote speaker.

The society's highest award, the Gerald White Memorial Prize, will be given to Enquirer reporters Debra Jasper and Spencer Hunt for stories about care provided by the state to mentally retarded residents.

The award is named for the late Gerald White, who was an investigative reporter for the Enquirer.

WCPO-TV reporter Michael Flannery is winner of the Camilla Warrick Award for Community Service. Warrick was a reporter and columnist at the Enquirer and the Post.

Flannery's "9 on Your Kid's Side'' series focuses attention on stories that help improve the lives of children.

Awards of excellence in more than 30 categories will be presented to local journalists during the banquet. For more information, call Andrea Tortora, 621-6665.